Ties That Bind
by TFAArtFreak
Summary: Francoeur discovers more about life when the L'oiseau Rare comes across hard times, then the Professor offers Francoeur a choice to see the world onboard the RMS Titanic, but when tragedy strikes Francoeur finds himself reliving his past as he struggles to find his way home, with the help of a few new friends he might be able to find his way. Please R&R, it encourages my muse
1. Intro

The large singer looked around, he had never seen such a vessel. It was large and it rocked from side to side, like a baby's cradle. It creaked and groaned as it did so, making him wonder if they were alive.

"Francoeur." he heard Lucille call.

"Francoeur, the professors ship has already left, it's time to go." she said, smiling and holding her hand out to him.

Francoeur made a happy chirping sound and held her hand as she led him away, but he looked back at the ship. And watched it for a moment as he walked away before being led back to the safety of the city streets.

After a quick stop at the butchers Lucille lead him back to her apartment, after hanging up their coats she put the kettle on and went to wash up to make dinner.

"Francoeur? Can you set the table and bring in the barrel from the butcher please?" she asked.

He nodded and made a small chirp as he began to set the dishes on the table and then carried in the small barrel, it sloshed with its contents as he set it on the counter.

Lucille came in after a minute with the kettle and filled their cups with the steamy liquid before putting sprinkling in the tea leaves.

Francoeur watched in fascination before chirping and looking back at the barrel.

Lucille noticed his chirp and smiled.

"will you put it in the pot please?" she asked kindly.

Francoeur nodded, pulling out a pot and set it on the stove. Then uncorking the barrel he tipped it over and let its cool rosy contents spill into the pot. When the pot was half full he re-corked the barrel and set it in the cooler.

When he was putting the barrel in the cooler she lit the stove and began warming up his meal. She wrinkled her nose at the coppery scent wavering from the warming liquid. she continued stirring it and when it was nice and warm she pulled out a bowl and tipped the pot, spilling the liquid cleanly into the bowl and setting it on a pot holder before carrying the bowl to the table.

By this time Francoeur had returned from his task and sat down at the table, chirping happily at the bowls contents. He purred at Lucille in thanks before picking up the bowl and sipping the liquid.

Lucille sat down and sipped her tea and smiled as he ate. Though his diet was not pleasing his joy when he was fed made her smile and she finished her tea shortly after he finished his gruesome meal.

Francoeur made a happy chirp once he was done and he smiled at her as he stood and got more, emptying the pot and then putting the pot in the wash tub. He then sat and continued eating joyfully at being filled, then he put his emptied bowl in the tub, washed the dishes, dried them then put them away before sitting back down with Lucille..

"Now Francoeur," Lucille said, smiling at him,"that barrel is to last you the week, with a the lack of income L'oiseau Rare has been having we have to save as much as we can until we can come up with a new act." she said, a hint of seriousness in her tone.

Francoeur nodded in understanding then made a curious chirp.

"I'm not sure how long, but we need to try and spend as little as we can until then, alright?" she said.

Francoeur nodded and gave an understanding chirp.

Lucille smiled, "Good, now get your night garments on, its almost time for lights out." she said, getting up and taking her cup to the tub.

Francoeur made a happy chirp and went to get dressed, his garments were teal and white pinstriped and he loved them, after he finished with the last buttons he hung up his suit and went to the bed, where Lucille was getting the bed ready. She motioned for him to hop in and then she went to put on her own night gown.

Francoeur lay down and curled up, purring at the warmth of the sheet and he soon fell asleep, not even noticing when Lucille lay on her side of the bed and went to sleep. That night Francoeur dreamed of sails and ships, meeting new people, and one day visiting other worlds.

For the next few days Francoeur and Lucille sang at L'oiseau Rare and had fun with Lucille's betrothed Raoul and the newly engaged Maude and Emile. They went to films and ate out, talking about past and current events. Raoul often spoke about his inventions while Maude and Emile spoke about their wedding plans with Lucille. Francoeur, not able to put a word in other then in agreement or disagreement, just listened patiently to the converses. He often let his mind wander on the ships he had seen at the harbors and he wondered what it would be like to be on one of them, though he had a fear of water the thoughts of being on those ships brought thoughts of adventure to his mind.

"Francoeur? Francoeur are you listening?" Lucille asked, gently tapping his shoulder to gain his attention and startling him. He blinked and looked at her before chirping questionably.

Lucille smiled, "We were just talking about how Raoul managed to create a device that could shower Maude and Emile in glitter as the procession is made."

Francoeur chirped in curiosity and looked at Raoul, his mind out of ships for the moment.

Raoul gulped down his tea and grinned with a silly sense of coyness.

"Ah! Yes!" he said with his usual luster, "You see my dear Frank, the device is an intricate setting of cables and motors that when activated by a specially made device of my, like that of my lovely- erm, ONCE lovely," he gulped, wiping small tear from his eye at the loss of his beloved truck, " c-Catherine, it will sprinkle precisely measured amounts of glitter onto the bride and groom, giving a magnificent sense of beauty to them as they vow to love one another forever!" he said, giving great dramatic gestures as he described his contraption, ending with him standing in a dramatic pose.

Francoeur made an excited chirp and a polite clap as he cheered Raoul, for his creation or his gestures, no one knew.

Francoeur lay on the bed, he chirped lightly in his sleep as he dreamed of sailing over the waters, seeing magnificent creatures and meeting strange and colorful people. He felt the air whirl around him as he hopped from mast to mast, peering over the endless waters and land masses that passed by. He felt he was the king of the world, the sun was shining and people commended him for being the first flea to see the world!

"Francoeur?" an elegant voice whispered upon the winds.

"Francoeur?" the voice said again, stronger this time

"Francoeur, it is time to wake."

Francoeur blinked and yawned as a gentle patting woke him from his slumber. He purred and made a small chirp in acknowledgment to Lucille, who then smiled and turned away to finish her chores. Francoeur lay in his bed for a moment more, thinking about the details of his dream and purring at the joyful moments in the breeze.

Finally he slipped out of bed and changed his night wear into his casual clothing and left the room, purring as he smelled breakfast being made in the kitchen. He gave a chirp of excitement as Lucille exited the kitchen with a bowl of his usual crimson meal.

Lucille smiled as he sipped the contents of the bowl and went to get her own meal.

The day passed as usual, Francoeur and Lucille performed at L'oiseau Rare as usual, ignoring the fact that there were so few in the crowd. Francoeur sang his songs as he played his guitar along with Lucille. At their breaks, Francoeur hummed and twiddled his thumbs to melodies that reminded him of the sea. Lucille just smiled and believed him to be dreaming about new songs as she went about her preparations. And thus another night of performance ended, their earnings slightly smaller than the last.

Lucille sighed as she counted the earnings, if L'oiseau Rare continued as it did they would be unable to keep up on payments. Her only hope was for the tourist season, if they were to gain enough earnings then, it might be enough to support L'oiseau Rare for another few months. Until then they were to save on their earnings, and, to Lucille's dismay, allow her friends to pay for their outings instead of she and Francoeur.

Lucille made another sigh as she leaned back in her chair, she hated allowing her friends to pay for their bills, but not being with them would only make things worse. She knew most of her inspiration happened when she was around friends, as with Francoeur, she only wished for a miracle.

Francoeur stared at the wall as he lay in the bed, he knew that L'oiseau Rare was having difficulties. Slowly he turned to look at Lucille on her side of the bed. Francoeur almost did not hold back his chirp at seeing her lie so peacefully. He noticed how stressed Lucille had been lately, and he wished there was something he could do. Rolling back to his original position he stared at the wall again. Maybe what Lucille had told him was correct, perhaps this situation was only temporary. Perhaps when the tourist season began L'oiseau Rare would once again be at the top of its game. Maybe then he would find something to sing, until then, he slowly drifted to sleep.


	2. Time

As the weeks passed Francoeur and Lucille failed to come up with another song. Raoul, Maud, and Emile attempted to help but the idea had taken water before it could even float. Several times the group came together in an attempt to find some way out of the ditch Lucille and Francoeur had fallen into.

Lucille groaned into her palms, it seemed that every bill was becoming harder and harder to pay. Taking a breathe she leaned back and tried to calm her unsettled thoughts. They had time, it would not be long till the tourist season started, and if she and Francoeur were able to come up with a song or two before then...

Lucille's thought's wandered at the thought of Francoeur. Poor Francoeur, he probably did not understand what was going on, and for that Lucille envied him.

Unbeknownst to Lucille Francoeur sat in the room, already dressed for bed and waiting for Lucille. He had been waiting for quite some time and his patience was slowly waning away. He kept himself occupied by looking around and twiddling his four hands. He understood Lucille's concerns quite well, though he did not show it he knew about how difficult things were getting at L'oiseau Rare. He knew how the income had been waning, how Lucille stressed over creating new songs and how she was trying to find a way to survive until tourist season. Sighing he looked to the ceiling, he wished he knew how to write, perhaps then it would be easier to write his words down. Words were the easy part, but creating a tune from his soul took a lot out of him. He had to be in the right moment, in the right time, at the right place. Ever so slowly a smile grew.

Lucille had her head in her hands again, how could they make it to tourist season? With how difficult things were being they were lucky they haven't been cited for late payments yet. Slowly Lucille lay her head into her arms. Maybe once she slept-

"Ooohhhh" a voice whispered melodically.

Lucille slowly raised her head at the sound of Francoeur singing,

"Ohhhh my dear, do not cry

I assure you, this will pass by

we are just in a moment in time

we just need the right place

we just need the right time

when the moment comes

we will end up fine, it will all be fine

the bills need to be payed, my education is sore

please do not fray, I promise there will be more

just wait my dear, work with me

all this will pass, and you will see

we just need the right place

we just need the right time

when the moment comes

we will end up fine, it will all be fine

stay with me, let us find our way

I promise you, if you stay

we will be good we will be proud

and we will sing, and sing it loud

we just needed the right place

we just needed the right time

the moment has come

we will end up fine, it will all be fine." he soothed, his tone soft and sweet, making Lucille feel light and complacent.

Standing, Lucille went to the room and smiled at Francoeur, his large reddish eyes twinkled as he purred, clearly pleased that his song had soothed her.

Lucille smiled and lay in bed next to Francoeur and hugged his arm, signaling her gratitude as she fell to sleep.

Francoeur continued to purr as both of them fell to sleep.

At the L'oiseau Rare, Francoeur twiddled his thumbs nervously, he had been waiting patiently for Lucille to change out of her performance clothes. He wanted to ask her a question, but he was not sure how to ask her, thus the fear.

Francoeur snapped out his thoughts as he heard the door open, immediately his eyes swiveled to it and he watched as Lucille stepped out then smile at hm.

"Hello, Francoeur, have you been waiting for me?" she asked, her warm smile washing away his fear.

Francoeur took a breath before making signals with his hands, attempting to explain he wanted to write.

Lucille looked down and looked confused for a moment.

"Do you...want me to write something for you?" she asked, confused by his gestures.

Francoeur shook his head and chirped, holding out his palm and imitated writing for a moment before pointing at her then at himself, hoping she got his message.

Lucille watched in a mixture of confusion and curiosity for a moment before taking another guess.

"Do you...want me to write for you?"

Francoeur shook his head sadly before repeating his gestures.

Lucille watched then smiled, finally understanding.

"You want me to teach you how to write, do you not?"

Francoeur nodded his head excitedly, chirping in joy at being understood.

Lucille made a happy laugh and smiled at him.

"Alright, Francoeur, I will teach you how to write."

Francoeur hopped in excitement, only to hit the ceiling and bounce back down, rubbing his head.

Lucille laughed and helped him stand before brushing off any debree.

"Alright, to start I need to first make a space to teach.." she said, signaling the living room.

"I will ask Raoul if I can borrow one of his chalkboard's. Then I will make a schedule on when we will work, agreed?" she finished, looking at Francoeur.

Francoeur nodded excitedly.

Lucille smiled.

"This will be a fun project." she said smiling at him.

Francoeur purred in agreement.

"Alright, Francoeur, you try." she said, handing him the chalk.

Francoeur concentrated on the board as he took the chalk. Slowly he wrote the alphabet below Lucille's own writing and hummed the alphabet song as he wrote. He concentrated as he shaped the letters, making them barely legible.

Lucille smiled when he was done.

"Good job Francoeur, now, I want you to do it again, ad this time, try to make your letters a little more smooth, alright?"

Francoeur chirped and nodded his head and started again, his handwriting somewhat better than the last.

Lucille smiled.

"You're doing great, now I want you to practice and fill out this whole board, then when its completely filled, erase what you have written and start again. I will go and make dinner." she said, smiling at him.

Francoeur nodded and set to work immediately.

Lucille went to the kitchen and pulled out a barrel and a pot and set to making Francoeur's meal. Once it was on the stove she set to making her own meal then set everything up for the table. Once that was done she filled Francoeur's bowl and went into the living room.

"Francoeur, dinner is ready."

Francoeur chirped and set down the chalkboard and went to eat.

Lucille glanced at the chalkboard and smiled, noticing the little improvement in the handwriting.

Several weeks went by, Francoeur learned how to write incredibly fast with Lucille's guidance and support. As he learned to write Lucille recorded several songs with him and wrote them down for him, using them to show how words were formed and their meanings. After a few more weeks Francoeur was introduced to reading, and he excelled at that, much to the jot of Lucille. Pretty soon L'oiseau Rare was at the top of its game, thanks to the talents of its two star performers. Soon Francoeur could read and write fluently, and he carried a small board and chalk with him whenever he went anywhere public with Lucille.

Everything was going brightly for the pair, and things soon became better when the professor and Charles returned.

Francoeur bounced with excitement as the ship stopped in the harbor, he could not wait to hear the stories that the professor had to tell. He watched as the passengers began to file off the ship and stood as high as his suit would allow to gain a better view of the exiting passengers. He watched and watched until he chirped in excitement at seeing the familiar Mandarin monkey carrying baggage full of equipment off of the ship. Francoeur quickly moved forwards and offered help with a chirp, which was gladly accepted by the hooting monkey. As Francoeur helped Charles he looked up and chirped in welcome as the professor stepped off of the ship, carrying the last of his luggage.

"Why hello Francoeur." the professor said politely,"I see you are faring well."

Francoeur chirped in reply and purred happily, offering to carry more of the professor's luggage.

The professor nodded and smiled, handing over one of his luggage bags.

"Splendid, oh, I see you are carrying a board, have you learned to write?" he asked, walking with Francoeur back to Lucille.

Francoeur chirped excitedly and nodded towards Lucille as they approached her.

The professor then turned his attention to Lucille and shook her hand.

"Hello miss Lucille, how is your day?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you, how was your trip?" she asked.

"It was wonderful, in fact I will discuss it with you during dinner tonight, if you will come?" he asked.

Lucille nodded.

"Francoeur and I will be delighted to attend dinner with you." she said, smiling.

"And your friends as well?" he asked, "I'm sure they would love to hear what I have to say."

the professor turned his head as a carriage pulled up beside them.

"I do hope they attend, we must be off now, we will see you tonight." he said, climbing into the carriage with Charles as Francoeur put their baggage in the top.

"Have a good day, madame." he said, waving as the carriage took off.

Lucille and Francoeur waved then headed home.

That night Francoeur and his friends arrived at the professor's he looked about the greenhouse in awe, remembering his first experience here. He chirped as he remembered his fear and confusion and looked at Lucille with excitement, earning a comforting pat on his arm.

"Welcome my friends!" the professor said, a smile on his face.

"Please, sit." he said, gesturing to a table set to accommodate everybody.

After everybody had sit he gestured to the enclosed dishes and everybody made sounds of pleasure at the wonderful dishes before them. After the professor gestured to dig in everybody filled their plates bt Francoeur, who's only dish was a pot full of his crimson meal.

Once everybody had their fill the professor began to tell his story. He told about the lands he had visited, including America, Brazil, Turkey, and other strange sounding lands. He told about his experience with the natives of these lands and the knowledge he gained from them, including a possible way to give Francoeur the ability of speech and a more human diet.

Francoeur listened in excitement, especially at the description of America. A place where people were as varied as the sounds? He shivered in joy at the possibility of being able to speak and not have to use gestures or the time consuming written word. He also thought about the possibility of people that could accept him for what he is and praise him for it. He was so caught up in his thoughts he did not notice until Lucille tapped his hand that he had wandered off.

"Francoeur, the professor is speaking to you." she said, joy written all over her face.

Francoeur looked to the professor, a ticklish feeling filled him as he gazed upon the excited looks from his friends.

"Francoeur," the professor started,"how would you like to visit the America's with me?"

Francoeur nearly leaped through the roof with joy, quickly he glanced at Lucille.

She nodded in blessing and Francoeur nodded excitedly in response.

The professor grinned and took a sip of his wine before setting it down.

"Good, we will leave in two days,"the professor said, a grin on his face,"I am sure you will enjoy our ship, the RMS Titanic."

_**I hope you enjoyed this one, please review, i will post the next one soon ^^**_

_****__**-TFAArftFreak**_


	3. Titanic

Francoeur chirped in excitement as he, the Professor, and Charles rode in a carriage to Southampton. First they had to travel north and then cross the English channel, then they drove by carriage to the Southampton docks.

Francoeur trilled in excitement as he saw the large ocean liner, he leaned out of the carriage window, looking at it in awe, his red scarf flapping behind him in the wind.

"Cherbourg, she is indeed a beautiful sight." the Professor said proudly before turning to Francoeur,"Remember, you have a performance every evening, so you must keep vigilant." he said.

Francoeur nodded and readjusted his gloves and hat. He wore his old dark jacket and red scarf, but with added accessories, including black gloves and a pair of trousers to hide his legs, shoes to hide his feet, and thanks to a minor adjustment, his spines did not poke out from his coat like they did before. Readjusting his scarf he looked back out the window, quivering in excitement at being on a boat.

Once the carriage had stopped they unloaded their belongings and headed towards the boarding ramps.

Francoeur looked about and pulled his scarf a little higher on his face and carried the Professors luggage on board.

The Professor handed over his tickets and climbed on board the ship, smiling proudly at being among those to ride aboard the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage.

"do you smell that, Francoeur? It is the smell of adventure!" he said, smiling.

Francoeur chirped and looked about, there were people everywhere, so many that it was hard to squeeze between people just to stay behind the Professor.

Once the Professor had located a bellhop he followed him to their room. Once there the bellhop nodded kindly before turning and leaving.

Francoeur looked about, excited at the furnishings of the room. It had three beds, and each bed had its own separator for privacy and that excited Francoeur to a point of fast twitters.

The Professor chuckled and put his suitcase next to his own bed.

"It is best to unpack, Francoeur, you have a show every night until we reach New York. You will have many chances to explore, but you have a show once Cherbourg takes to sea." he said, reminding Francoeur.

Francoeur nodded, understanding completely.

That night Francoeur stood in front of the crowd, his face hidden by the shade of his chapeau as he sang. His voice washed over his audience, sending ripples throughout the current, earning many murmurs of approval by his new found fans.

Later, after he had finished he quickly went to his room, changing into his less conspicuous clothing so that he could wander about the ship. He visited the kitchens first, since they were the closest, then he wandered about the halls, looking in the bathrooms and steam rooms before wandering the deck, since it was dark by this time and nobody would notice him. Once he had his fill he returned to his room and dressed in his pajamas, eating his crimson meal, then going to sleep. His heart light, and he slept comfortably as the ship rocked ever so lightly from side to side.

Francoeur passed his days doing the same thing everyday, he would explore during the day, perform at night, eat then go to bed. He enjoyed each day as they passed, soon he came to love the sea, he sang to it and listened, he loved the sounds and the beautiful things he saw. Once he saw a whale and watched in fascination as it broke the water, spouting mists in the air as it rose then rolled back beneath the water. Francoeur purred in content as he watched the waves. On his fourth day he returned to his shared room late, the Professor and Charles already asleep as he sneaked in. He quickly dressed into his pajamas and went to bed, snuggling up to the warm covers before yawning and falling asleep.

A jolt woke Francoeur from his sleep, knocking him out of his bed. He blinked drowsily before standing and looking about, wondering what had happened. He heard cries in the hallways as people left there rooms in confusion.

Francoeur quickly went to the Professor as he sat up, rubbing his eyes as he looked about in confusion.

"Francoeur, what has happened?" he asked, still drowsy from waking.

Charles yawned and sat up, awoken by the Professor and he hooted in confusion.

Francoeur shrugged his shoulders and shook his head to signify he did not know, then he pointed to the door and chirped.

The Professor nodded, understanding.

"Alright, Francoeur, Charles, come with me, we must find out what has happened.

Francoeur nodded, quickly putting on his coat and gloves, then he grabbed his chapeau and scarf and followed the Professor out into the hall, donning his hat then wrapping his scarf around his neck as they walked past the hundreds of people wandering the halls.

The Professor quickly passed through the crowd as he headed towards the stern, and bursting into the crowded deck.

"Excuse me, excuse me, what has happened?" the Professor asked, but nobody answered.

Frowning the Professor held Charles on his shoulder and hurried to where people were crowding the sides of the ships.

The Professor went to the side of the boat and peered over, attempting to gain any information he could.

"Francoeur, I need you to stay by the boats with Charles, if it is an emergency then they might require your help." he said, motioning to the raft hanging off of the side

Francoeur nodded and stood with Charles, looking about curiously as people wandered about, afraid and curious. He tipped his head to the side, slightly, trying to pickup any information he could.

After a moment of concentration he frowned, their languages were just to confusing and he could not understand anything past the odd word.

Charles hooted beside him before climbing onto his shoulder and wrapping his arms around himself, clearly cold.

Francoeur chirped and opened his jacket, offering Charles the warmth inside.

Charles hooted again and climbed down.

Francoeur then picked him up, covering him with his jacket in an attempt to help.

Charles held up a card signifying his thanks before snuggling against him.

Francoeur stood by the raft, looking about for any sign of the Professor returning, and searching for any thing that could help him understand what was happening.

After a few moments of waiting Francoeur spotted some of the sailors rushing over, clearly attempting to keep themselves contained.

Francoeur chirped in confusion as the men attempted to speak to him, pushing him aside as they set up the raft. He watched as they readied the raft and began to call, gesturing for people to move onto the raft. He blinked and moved forwards, attempting to understand what was happening.

One of the sailors held him back and attempted to speak to him, but Francoeur could not understand him.

Francoeur chirped, reluctantly he set down Charles and attempted to gesture he could not understand.

The sailor looked at him then pointed towards the people then the boat, which was being filled with women and children.

Francoeur looked and realized women and children were filing into the boat, and all of the men stood back, allowing them to go first. He nodded towards the sailor and chirped a thank you.

The sailor nodded then continued to help the women and children aboard the boat.

Francoeur watched as thee woman and children climbed into the boat, some having difficulty due to how low the boat was, causing many to stumble.

Francoeur noticed the constant tripping and tapped the sailor's shoulder, pointing at the boat and attempting to explain about the tripping.

The sailor shook his head and said something to Francoeur, which he could barely understand. All he knew was the sailor could not understand him. For a few more moments he watched then he heard a familiar voice. Turning around he looked and saw as the Professor moved towards him, passing through the crowds to stand on the side of the ship.

"Francoeur, we are sinking." he said, clearly out of breath.

Francoeur chirped, nodding in acknowledgment, having already known that by how the people were getting into raft's. He then pointed at the boat and chirped, motioning as the latest woman to get aboard tripped and fell into the boat.

The Professor frowned for a moment, attempting to understand before nodding.

"They need help, I will speak to the sailors.", he said, moving towards them and speaking to them.

Though Francoeur could not understand what he was saying he understood the meaning as the professor gestured towards Francoeur then towards the boat as more women fell in. After a moment the sailor nodded then gestured to Francoeur and then the boat. Francoeur then watched as the Professor approached him and pointed towards the boat.

"He wishes for us to stand in the boat as they load the women and children, they would like our help." he said.

Francoeur nodded, understanding him and chirping as he accepted the offer. Francoeur followed the Professor as they approached the raft and stepped in, both with only one foot in. They then began to help women step in, making sure to catch them if they stumbled, then lifting the children in, making sure they were steady before turning to help another. After a little while the boat was beginning to become full. The sailor said something but Francoeur could not understand him and he continued to help people into the boat.

A sudden crackling sound made him stop, he looked about, wondering that the sound was. He heard a cry and then he found the boat was gone, along with his balance. He made twittering sound as a splashing sound was made behind him and he fell back, right into the fallen boat. He blinked looking about, realizing he had fallen into the boat. Spotting the Professor hanging off of the side he chirped and pulled him in, checking him over and seeing he was not hurt.

The Professor coughed, holding his side before sitting up and looking about, clearly confused. A loud cry made them look up as Charles looked down at them, running along the side rails of the ship as he attempted to keep up with the quickly parting raft.

"Charles!" the Professor called in shock.

Francoeur made a loud chirp and watched as Charles reached the end of the boat, then he jumped, landing in the water a few yards from them.

"Charles!" the Professor called again, leaning over the raft in an attempt to see reach for the monkey.

Charles flailed in the water in, attempting to swim but failing to do so.

Francoeur looked about desperately as he attempted to look for a way to help. Spotting the rope from the broken support beams he quickly grabbed it and chucked one end out towards Charles, chirping and twittering in an attempt to gain his attention as the rope landed beside him.

Charles gripped the rope and held on as Francoeur pulled it in. Once the monkey was close enough he pulled him aboard. Noticing how cold the monkey was he pulled off his coat and covered the monkey, rubbing his sides in an attempt to warm him.

After a moment the Professor took Charles and held him on his lap, hugging him to keep him warm.

Francoeur then turned towards the Titanic, watching as several other lifeboats were deployed and moved away from the ship. He heard crying beside him and looked at the tearful faces of the women and children beside him. Sympathizing with them he began to sing, hoping to cheer them up as he sang.

As the tide rises and the tide falls

as the wind blows and the curlew calls

our hearts full and our knees weak

we shall strive despite how meek

the wind may blow the storm may cry

but all storms will end as we pass by

let us stand tall, let us soar

as move on towards the shore

despite the cold and the storm

we will go home where it is warm

the wind may blow the storm may cry

but all storms will end as we pass by

after a storm the sea is smooth as a mirrors

and the path will be revealed my dears

keep your hearts strong, your minds clear

as we move on despite our fear

the wind may blow the storm may cry

but all storms will end as we pass by

we shall move to the shore

and through that storm never more

shall we pass its cold winds

as we learn to live again

the wind may blow the storm may cry

but all storms will end as we pass by

He smiled once he finished his song, knowing though none of them had understood his words they understood the meaning enough. He watched as one child leaned against his leg and held on, hoping for the nightmare to end. Francoeur chirped and piked up the child, holding her close to his chest as she lay against him. He turned his head towards the ship and watched as it slowly began to rise, its bow rising into the air as its lights went out. Unable to bear the sight he turned away, small tears leaking from his eyes at the devastation. He held onto the child, shielding her ears from the screams that echoed throughout the night.

Francoeur did not know how long he had slept, but he felt stiff from sitting in one position for too long, he was cold and he felt like his rear was frozen to his seat. Shifting a bit he attempted to get more comfortable without waking the little girl in his arms. Luckily his pajamas covered enough of him to hide his flea appendages. He was thankful for wearing his socks and his gloves that not only hid his feet and hands but helped keep him warm as well. He was grateful to have grabbed his chapeau and scarf to hide his face as the morning light came.

Blinking he looked about, seeing hat the Professor and Charles were sleeping, as were most of the passengers, other than a select few. He looked about past the passengers and towards the sea, searching for any other boats. He spotted the life rafts in the distance, not too far away, all of them seemed to be waving. He looked again, trying to see what they saw but saw nothing. On a hunch he turned completely around and gasped as a ship loomed over them, closing in so close he was afraid it might hit them. Quickly he took a paddle and began to steer the boat out of the larger ship's path.

The ship passed by their boat, the word Carpathia on its side as the waves it made caused their boat to rock violently.

Francoeur chirped in surprise, falling back to the side of the boat as they rocked fro side to side, waking everybody with its hard jerks. As the boat continued to rock Francoeur began to feel woozy for a moment as a sense of seasickness overwhelmed him.

The women cried out in fear with the children, afraid of what was happening and of falling offboard.

Francoeur watched as the ship came to a stop beside them, he watched as a rope ladder was lowered and as some sailors on board hollered down to them. He blinked in confusion, not understanding what they were saying until he spotted some women beginning to climb the ladder. Scooting towards the boat he held the child, now awake, as he waited for the other passengers to board the ship. Once all the women and children had boarded he waited for the professor and Charles to board, then he climbed up, holding the girl in one pair of arms and climbed up with the other.

Once on board he walked about, holding the girl and pulling his scarf higher over his face, ensuring his flea pincers were not seen. He quickly moved to where the professor was standing and looked about. He felt as the ship began to move again. Looking out at sea he noticed they were now moving towards the other boats, who were waving and calling out in joy as the ship moved towards them.

He watched as the boat slowed to a stop beside the other boats, lowering ladders to allow the other lifeboats to board. He watched as shaken women and children boarded the Carpathia, many crying or red eyed from crying. He watched as a few men boarded as well, all looking stiff and frozen in fear and confusion.

After all the boats and their passengers were loaded the Carpathia steamed away, many supplies were brought out to help the passengers including blankets, food, and other items. One person offered him a blanket but Francoeur only used it to cover up the child in his arms.

As the boat moved on he wandered about the ship, looking around at the passengers as he moved.

"Mama!" the girl in his arms suddenly cried.

He looked as a woman approached him, her eyes red from tears but were now alight with joy at seeing her child.

She took the child as he held her out to her, watching as the woman made sounds of joy before looking at him and said something over and over to him.

Though he did not understand her exact words he knew she was thanking him so he tipped his had and nodded, signifying his reply. He then turned and went to find the Professor, easily spotting his white head among the crowd and he stood by his side.

Many people were beside him, but by the glares they were giving him and the man beside him, something was wrong.

Francoeur listened, hoping for a chance to understand the glares and curses that were being sent his way.

The Professor turned his back on the people, clearly frazzled by all of the negativity he was getting. Grabbing Francoeur's hand he led them away from the crowd, followed by Charles.

"Such savage people, they worry of petty things instead of the serious." he grumbled, taking them to the other side of the ship, away from the negative curses of the other people.

after a while Francoeur was confused when he spotted a figure out on the water. He rubbed his eyes as they came closer to the figure before he realized it was a statue of a lady. He chirped and pointed at it, gaining the Professors attention as Charles leaned on the side of the railing, attempting to get a better view.

The Professor approached the side and looked, squinting then grinning at what he was seeing.

"We are here, welcome, Francoeur, to America, or to be more precise, New York.", he said, breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the statue.

Francoeur watched as they passed the statue, blinking then tipping his hat towards the giant lady and then looked towards the land they were approaching. He watched as the Carpathia docked and as people began to file off of the ship. Following the Professor he filed off of the ship, watching as several people from the shore threw jeers and curses at the Professor and himself. Wondering why the people were being so mean he looked about and realized every man that had survived the sinking was getting the same treatment. He continued to look about, looking around for more signs of maltreatment.

He heard a person hurl an insult towards him and say something else he could not understand. He was surprised as a hand tugged away his scarf, knocking off his chapeau and revealing his large red eyes. He heard screaming as people saw him, he did not understand most of the strange words they called other than one he was well know one.

"Monster!"

Francoeur chirped in fear, trying to stay beside Charles and the Professor, to scared to do anything.

He watched as the Professor attempted to calm the frightened people but he was pushed aside as several policemen pushed past him.

Scared, Francoeur made a cry of fear as a loud bang shot through the air. He felt a pain in his shoulder and his flight instincts took effect. He jumped as high and as far away as he could, ripping his pants in process as he stretched his legs, then landed on a nearby building. He turned and looked, his eyes wide in fear as people cried out, he watched as several scattered while other ran in his direction. He spotted the Professor in the crowd, he was crying out and fighting as a policeman held him in place along with Charles. Francoeur wanted to help but a wave from the Professor told him to run, and he did. He jumped again, then landed, he jumped again, and landed. He continued to jump about as the day grew brighter, then as noon came he felt he could jump no more.

Landing roughly on a low roof he panted and looked about, seeing if anybody could see him, then he jumped off of the side and into an alley, hiding beside a rubbish bin. Trembling in fear and exhaustion, holding his wound, he looked about, afraid and concerned for the Professor and Charles. Shakily he lay on the ground, exhausted and in need of sleep he passed out.

* * *

**Francoeur has come across the tragedy of the RMS Titanic, I read a lot about it and used a lot of references just to understand this, i hope you can forgive how hurriedly it was put together and as for Fancoeur's song, it was inspired by the poem 'The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls' by Henry W. Longfellow, one of my favorite Fireside poets ^^ Cherbourg is actually what some french called the Titanic, so i decided to incorporate it into he story ^^ and as you have noticed I made it to where Francoeur cannot understand English, so i hope you can forgive me for that. As for the attack at the end I know a lot of the surviving men gained a lot of negativity later on but not as soon as Francoeur experienced, as for what the person who tore off his hat and scarf (for those who wonder) he was shouting 'show your face coward!' i hope you enjoy this, and please review ^^ that would be so nice. as for Francoeur being shot, in the movie i noticed he WAS shot, but it seemed to just ricochet off of him, but when the double decker nearly crashed into him he seemed hurt by that (of coarse the growing potion was wearing off, so he might have just been weak) so i made it to where he DOES get hurt by the bullet, hes not bleeding, but just bruised, so i hope you can forgive the violence ^^ thank you and keep watching **


	4. Cara

Francoeur woke to the sound of garbage rustling, instinctively he attempted to jump but his legs gave out beneath him. Fearfully he crawled back to his corner and attempted to hide his face with his scarf. Glancing he spotted a figure, he could tell it was a she and that she was gong through the garbage. He watched as she came closer, rifling through the rubbish bins and pulling out odd looking items and putting them in an old looking satchel on her side.

She continued on, her clothing looked old and ragged, she wore a vest that looked to be made from an old coat, as were the fingerless gloves she wore. She wore broken knee high boots with the heels broken off and her blouse looked to be hand stitched from an old sheet. Her pants looked to have once belonged to a child and had patches all over them. Her hair was in a long braid and her face strong and worn, though clearly young. She pulled what looked like an old can from the garbage and sniffed it before putting it into her satchel and moving to the garbage next to him.

Francoeur was frozen with fear, afraid she would scream once she saw him but she paid him no heed. Once she finished rifling through the bin she turned in his direction and made a small tug on his clothing. He made a weak squeak and pressed harder against the wall, earning a yelp from her in return as she stumbled back.

* * *

After a moment she took a deep breathe and sighed, regaining her composure as she relaxed, seeing this homeless person was only frightened, not hostile.

"Sorry there, I did not see you.", she sighed.

The figure made a whimpering sound, the shadows blocking any attempt she made at seeing the figure's face. She frowned, confused at why why the figure was so scared, but she shrugged it off, he probably thought she was trying to rob him.

"Don't worry, mister, I'm not gonna hurt you, but could you let me look in that bag your sittin on?", she asked.

He did not reply, he only curled up farther and covered his face up more with his scarf before rubbing his shoulder. She watched him for a moment before feeling concerned at how he was rubbing his shoulder.

"You alright mister? You're not hurt are you?", she asked, concern in her voice.

The figure only made a weak chirping sound.

She scowled and put her bag down, then she held her hand forwards and moved slowly towards him.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya, but it looks like yer hurtin, so let me see." she whispered, crouching beside him and motioning towards his wound.

He made crackling purring sound, clearly expressing some sort of pain. She gazed a little closer and noticed his clothes were in tatters.

"You sound hurt, did you get roughed up?", she asked, gently pulling his shirt way from his wound.

She tried looking closer but she could barely see because it was so dark. She frowned and tried to feel the wound with her hand, only to brush against something not soft like skin but hard and smooth to the touch. For a moment she believed he was wearing some sort of under clothing that was hard, that was until she felt over his shoulder and felt his spines. She froze as she felt over the area, it was definitely not normal hair and she slowly pulled her shaky hand away.

"Uh m-mister, it s-seems you h-have v-very strange skin.", she whispered, looking him directly in the face. She almost cried out in horror as the scarf slid down, revealing large glowing red eyes.

She stumbled back and collapsed against the wall opposite of him. She lay there, frozen in fear as she hyperventilated, staring at the figure before her. Trembling they stared at each other for several moments, he did not move and she could not breathe. After her fear began to wane she forced herself to breathe again and she sat up, watching him closely for any signs of aggression. As she stood she slowly reached for her bag, getting ready to run as she stood. Once she grabbed her bag she heard him make a quiet chirping sound. She blinked and frowned at him, not understanding his meaning as she slowly lifted her bag.

* * *

Francoeur chirped towards her again, he wished he could tell her he needed help, but he could not understand her and vice verse. But she did show she was willing to help him by how she had approached him before, he just did not know how to tell her.

After a moment she shook her head and said something, he guessed she was telling him she could not understand and he was beginning to feel hopeless, then an idea hit him.

* * *

She watched as the thing began to lean forwards, letting the light from the streets hit it and she nearly fell again from fright as his face was lit up. She shook as she saw what looked like mandibles on his, no not HE an IT, on ITS face. She continued to shake as it reached out a hand and touched the ground. She waited as it moved further forwards, all she could think about was her bag, she thought about swinging it at it and bolting, but it had to be close enough to be effective.

She gulped as it drew nearer and crouched in front of her, she trembled, her hand gripping her satchel tighter as she readied to escape.

It chirped at he again and began to poke at the ground. She watched for a moment, it was still too far out of her range for her to make an effective hit, she was about to force a step forward to swing when she noticed the figures on the ground. Immediately her satchel dropped to the ground as she recognized the shapes on the ground.

_FRANCOEUR_

she blinked and blinked again, then she rubbed her eyes and blinked some more.

"D-Did you...just...write?" she gaped, staring at the word in front of her.

She watched as it chirped and pointed at itself, then at the word, then back at itself. She watched it continue through the motions for a moment before taking a deep breathe and looking at i.

"F-Fran-Franker?", she asked, frowning as she tried to pronounce its name, no not IT, HE.

Francoeur chirped and nodded as she tried pronouncing the name, but shook his head when she finished. She frowned again before a moment of realization hit her.

"I-...I'm talking to a bug...a GIANT...bug...that can write...", she blinked for a moment before reaching up and rubbing her head.

"A bug...but what kind of bug? Wait, a bug that can write...oh wow...", she murmured, sliding back down the wall and rubbing her head as she absorbed this knowledge.

Francoeur chirped in her direction before pointing at his name again. She scowled before sighing and reaching down at his name and erasing part of it.

"Since I cannot pronounce your name properly I'm just going to call you Frank, understood?", she asked, pointing at the modified name and back at him.

He watched her before nodding and chirping, eh then tried to stand but his legs gave out beneath him and he fell back to the ground. Making a pained twitter as he landed.

She blinked before sighing and standing, quickly she slung her satchel over her shoulder and slowly she moved forwards and pulled at one of his arms. She almost dropped him as she felt the two spindly arms beneath the one sleeve she held. She groaned and just pulled, trying her best to ignore the fact she was helping a giant bug and that it could write.

"I have to say, this is the strangest thing I have ever done for anyone.", she groaned, pulling him up with great effort.

Once she had him standing she leaned him against herself to prop him up. She gasped at how much he weighed and grunted in the effort.

"Y-your heavy, but you have to move.", she grunted, lightly tapping his feet with her own, only to see he had spiny spindly legs.

She shuddered but pushed forwards and helped him walk as they stumbled away.

He walked unsteadily as they moved, using the shadows of the alleys to hide them. He then made a chirp at her, pointing at himself then at her.

She groaned and kept walking, her legs feeling sore as she moved him along.

"W-we will talk w-when we get to shelter.", she hissed out, pointing towards an old broken down house.

"So long a-as you stay q-quiet we w-wont be seen.", she growled again, putting a finger to her lips to signify silence.

He nodded and they moved inside. Once inside it was clear to see everybody was crowded around the television, all of them too busy discussing current events to bother. As she moved him upstairs she heard someone call out to her from the living room.

"Cara! Did ya hear? There's a monster loose in the city! An a prize fer its head!", the voice said.

She grunted and forced her voice to be clear as she shouted back.

"Funny, I found a giant cricket in an alley earlier!", she called sarcastically, earning a roar of laughter and tutting from the people below.

She muttered something incoherently as she stepped up the last step with Francoeur.

"If only they knew.", she muttered before saying a quiet string of curses as she opened her door and pushed Francoeur in, letting him fall onto her dirty bed. She closed the door and looked at him for a moment as he gazed around the room, lightly brushing his fingers against the mucky sheets.

"It's the best I have,", she grunted, leaning against the wall, "so don't expect some sort of fancy service or anything." she growled.

Francoeur looked at her and chirped then he purred at her, giving her a smile.

She blinked in surprise before making a small smile herself, unable to resist the innocent smile he gave her. After a moment she shook her head, feeling ridiculous for smiling at a bug.

"My name is Cara by the way." she said, pointing at herself.

He chirped and tilted his head to the side, not quite understanding.

She sighed then pointed at him.

"You, Franc,", she pointed at herself, "me, Cara, you Frank,", points at him then back at herself, "me, Cara, understood?"

he chirped and pointed at himself then at her then nodded and smiled.

She chuckled before turning towards the door and glancing over her shoulder at him, holding up a finger towards him.

"I will be gone for a few moments, understood?", she asked.

He chirped and nodded, holding up a finger.

She nodded and left, heading downstairs and entering the living room.

"So what did you say about that monster, Mitch?". She asked, looking towards the television.

The man grunted, he was big in build and was missing several teeth, he then pointed one of his grubby fingers at the television.

"Remember when we got wind that there was a monster in Paris?", he asked

She nodded.

"Yeah, that giant flea?", she froze as she realized where this was going.

"When that blasted ship sunk it had the monster on it, made by some sort of crazy scientist, and its loose in the city.", he said, rubbing his hands together greedily.

"An I'm gonna get it.", he chuckled before falling into a bout of coughs.

Cara stepped back as people surrounded him, many joking about splitting the prize or methods on catching the bug. She shuddered as she heard them speak of the more drastic measures they would take to capture him, and when she could not take anymore she headed back to her room.

"H-hey, where are you goin?", Mitch asked before coughing again.

She looked back and sighed.

"I'm just tired, I'm gonna go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning, hear?", she asked, looking at him.

He just grunted and waved her away.

"Well go on, must've been a pretty rough day ta hear that from you.", he chuckled before falling into another fit of coughs.

She nodded then entered her room, closing the door behind her. Quickly she stiffened, Francoeur was looking at a picture and chirped as he gazed at it, his gloves were off and he was moving it around as he inspected it. She winced and quickly took it from him, carefully putting it back in it place, lightly tracing her finger over its image before wagging her finger in his face.

"NO, no touch, understand?", she growled, pointing at the picture and wagging her finger.

He blinked and nodded, recoiling away from her, his eyes wide in fear as he clutched his shoulder.

After a moment of staring at his eyes she sighed and motioned towards his shoulder.

"Does it hurt bad?", she asked.

He blinked and lightly tapped his shoulder before wincing.

She sighed and pulled his shirt aside, exposing the dark spot on his shoulder. She frowned and lightly traced her finger over it, looking for any breaks in the skin. When she saw none she nodded and began to look elsewhere on his skin, looking for any more dark spots, but finding none. She felt a little impressed at how human like his midsection seemed as she looked. When she realized what she was thinking she forced her face to stay straight as she blushed a bit, feeling ridiculous for thinking as she did before pulling away, letting him pull his shirt back up.

"Um, i-it just looks bruised,", he managed to say, turning head away to hide her blush as she went to her bag and began rifling through it, "You should be okay."

she turned around and spotted him playing with her broken comb and groaned.

"Would you please stop playing with everything?", she groaned as she plucked the comb from his grasp and putting it back where it was.

He chirped and began to hum the sound he made with the comb.

She sighed and sat down beside him, leaning her head against her palm as she tried to think of what to do next.

"Elle sort de son lit." he sang.

She stiffened, her eyes widened as she slowly turned her gaze towards him.

"Wh-what did you say?", she gasped.

He continued to hum before chirping and singing again.

"Tellement sure d'elle.", then chirped and lay down, still singing.

"La Seine, la Seine, la Seine  
Tellement jolie elle m'ensorcelle  
La Seine, la Seine, la Seine

Extralucide la lune est sur  
La Seine, la Seine, la Seine  
Tu n'est pas soul  
Paris est sous  
La Seine, la Seine, la Seine

Je ne sais, ne sais, ne sais pas pourquoi  
C'est comme ça, la Seine et moi  
Je ne sais, ne sais, ne sais pas pourquoi  
On s'aime comme ça la Seine et moi

Extralucide quand tu es sur  
La Seine, la Seine, la Seine  
Extravagante quand l'ange est sur  
La Seine, la Seine, la Seine

Je ne sais, ne sais, ne sais pas pourquo  
C'est comme ça, la Seine et moi  
Je ne sais, ne sais, ne sais pas pourquoi  
On s'aime comme ça la Seine et moi

Sur le pont des Arts

Mon cœur vacille

Entre les eaux

L'air est si bon, Cet air si pur

Je le respire

Nos reflets perchés sur ce pont

Je ne sais, ne sais, ne sais pas pourquo  
C'est comme ça, la Seine et moi  
Je ne sais, ne sais, ne sais pas pourquoi  
On s'aime comme ça la Seine et moi", he finished, he yawned and curled up, finally falling asleep.

Cara stared at him, baffled.

"A...singing...flea...", she groaned and fainted onto the bed.


	5. Day

Cara woke to something tickling her nose, instinctively she tried to wave it away, but it persisted until she was forced to open her eyes. She saw a pair of large red eyes staring back at her and they squinted, making a purring sound. She yelped and pressed herself against the wall, startling the bug as it fell back onto the ground in front of her. After a moment she remembered everything and relaxed, looking more irritated then anything.

"What is it?", she sighed, rubbing her eyes as she leaned over the edge of her bed.

Frank made a burbling chirp and tried to write on the ground.

She frowned, looking as he tried to write on the dirty cement ground before rolling her eyes and pulling off her boot. She tipped it to its side and patted it roughly, letting the dirt collected on her boots fall to the ground in dry chunks, she then held the boot to the ground and crushed the mud with the heel, making a fine dust before putting her boot back on.

"Try that.", she said, gesturing to the dust.

Francoeur looked at it curiously before tapping it with his finger and looking at her in confusion.

She sighed and trailed her finger in the dust, making the figure of her name before erasing it and gesturing towards it again.

"Tell me.", she said, saying her words slowly before tapping beside the dirt, "Write."

He looked at her then at the dirt before nodding and writing.

_J'ai Faim_

Cara stared, not understanding before sighing and rubbing her head, trying to figure it out.

"A-alright...J'ai Faim...um I am guessing...your...", she frowned, trying to guess before looking at him.

"Well...I've heard french is similar to english...so faim...fam...family...familiar...famished...famished!", she gasped, looking at him, startling him, making him fall back again.

She winced and helped him stand, nearly falling herself as she leaned back to pull him up.

"Are you hungry?", she asked once she helped him up, only for him to fall to the ground as he failed to keep his balance.

He chirped, tilting his head in confusion, not understanding as he rubbed his legs.

She frowned, thinking for a moment before looking back at him and motioning to her mouth.

"Hungry?", she asked, making the motion again then pointing at him.

He nodded, smiling and sitting up as he recognized the motions before holding out his hands, cupping them together before motioning sipping.

She frowned before nodding, understanding he was hungry and smiled.

"Well, okay...um...hold on.", quickly she went to her bag and dug through it before pulling out a potato and handing it to him.

"Food?", she asked, offering it.

He sniffed it before shaking his head towards her.

She scowled, not understanding before she realized why he would not eat it.

"...Your a flea...you eat...drink blood...", she groaned, sitting down as she began to think.

"...Maybe I could get some...but...what kind of blood? I don't think you drank human blood.", she said, frowning.

He looked at her for a moment before chirping and writing on the ground.

_Sang de vache_

She looked at it and sighed, not understanding before holding up her hands and shoulders in defeat.

He looked at her again before erasing what he wrote and writing in one word.

_Moo_

She blinked, recognizing the word and looking at him.

"Cow?", she asked.

He looked at her, clearly not understanding.

She sighed again before holding her fingers up to her head, feeling a little silly for her acting.

"Moooo...cow? Moooo.", she said, her cheeks reddening before putting her hands down sheepishly.

He blinked and nodded quickly, chirping in excitement as he understood.

She nodded, a small smile forming on her face before looking around.

"I can't leave you here...so...i need to get you a good disguise...", she frowned, looking around her room before looking at the dirty sheets below her before making a small smile.

* * *

Cara walked down the streets, holding Frank's arm in hers as they walked. He had a loose skirt made from the sheets and another part of the sheet to make a shawl, covering his face with the scarf as if he had a cold.

Cara looked about, helping him walk as he shuffled forward, people parted immediately, being kind to what seemed to be a daughter leading her elderly mother through the streets. She patted his arm reassuringly as they walked, leading him to the butchers shop. Once they entered she went in, still holding onto Frank's arm.

"Excuse me,", she asked the butcher as he let his ax fall through a slab of meat, "I have a request to make that may seem a little odd."

He grunted, spitting a glob of chew into a bucket nearby.

"Wha you wan'?", he grunted, showing his broken black teeth as he squinted at her.

She took a deep breath, hiding her shudders of disgust and the urge to purge the best she could.

"I need the blood of a cow, it's for my mom's health.", she said.

He scowled at her before making another shot at the bucket.

"Fer 'er 'ealth, eh?", he grunted.

She nodded, earning a laugh from him as he went to the back of his shop and coming back with a bucket full of the crimson liquid and setting it down in front of her.

"Wha' you go' ter pay?", he grunted, looking her over.

She fingered through her pockets, careful to hold Frank's arm with one as she fished for change. After a moment she dropped 3 pennies onto the counter.

"Will that be enough?", she asked, looking him in the eyes.

He chuckled, scooping up the change and looking them over.

"T'will do.", he grunted, scooting over the bucket with his foot.

She leaned down and picked up the bucket, handling it carefully due to the slushiness of its contents before nodding in the man's direction.

"Pleasure doing business sir.", she said, turning away and exiting with Frank, who was attempting to peek into the bucket.

She held it away from him, using her arm to push him away.

"Hold it, you need to wait.", she grumbled, exiting the butchers and walking down the streets for a moment, making space between the butchers and themselves. When she felt they were far enough she led them into an alley and took them to its back, hiding them from view before pulling the sheet from his head.

"Alright, enjoy.", she grunted, holding the bucket to him.

He took it and examined it for a moment before holding it to his mouth and sipping its contents.

She watched him for a moment before wrinkling her nose and turning away, unable to watch any more. She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on the slurping sounds he made as he drank his gruesome meal. After a few moments she noticed he had stopped slurping and turned to look back at him. She covered her mouth as she tried not to wretch as she looked at him.

He looked at her before smiling, despite the red all over his face and dribbling down his chin.

She turned her head and made a near quiet gagging sound before forcing herself to regain her composure and looking at him. She then took the sheet and held it out to him, trying her best to stay away from him.

He took it and looked at it with confusion, making a twittering sound as he looked at it.

She sighed and held up a corner of it and began to wipe his face, doing her best to keep her hands from becoming bloody herself. She wrinkled her nose and did her best not to wretch as she wiped him. After a moment she realized he was staring at her, looking at her expressions curiously before chirping and leaning close to her, lightly pinching the skin on her cheek.

She turned red immediately, not from the little bit of blood he smeared on her, but from the fact how he was touching her. She felt her cheeks burn as he felt over the creases on her skin, he felt over her forehead and beneath her chin. As he felt up her chin she backed off, knowing he was going to touch her lips. She held a hand to her own cheek, feeling self conscious before she realized he had smeared her face with a good amount of blood.

She forced herself to remain calm by taking a deep breath and quickly using another part of the sheet to clean her face.

"That...was disgusting.", she muttered, letting her cheeks flush again as she remembered how he felt her cheeks.

"But next time you do that...", she said, looking him in the eye.

He chirped, not quite understanding her as he leaned closer.

She swung her hand up and at him, slapping him straight across the face.

He blinked, jolted by the slap, but not hurt. He blinked again and stared at her.

"I will use a fist.", she growled, making her hand into a fist and waving it in front of his face.

He blinked, before leaning back and nodding, getting a forced understanding as she grumbled to herself, wrapping the sheet roughly around his head again forcing him to stand before grabbing the bucket.

"Now lets go.", she grumbled, facing the ground as she tried to hide the reddening of her cheeks.

* * *

She led him back to her room, letting him fall onto the bed before quickly plucking the sheets off of him and grumbling as she looked over the blood stains on them.

He watched her for a moment, still stunned by how she had slapped him in the alley. He understood, somewhat, that he should not touch her like that again, no matter how curious he was.

He watched as she took the bucket from the butchers and the sheets as she made ready to leave. She turned towards him and motioned for him to stay. He nodded, understanding before she turned and left, leaving him alone. He looked around, he had looked around the room before but he had patience and he used it as he looked the room over, he looked at every nook, every cranny. He looked at every corner, every crack, his eyes even made a pattern at the familiar crack along the ceiling, making him think of a bird...of Lucille.

He made a twittering sigh before laying down on the bed, looking at the ceiling for a few moments, letting his mind find the right words to describe his feelings.

This world, so strange and cold

it whispers cruel words of old

how I wish you were here

to cloak me from this fear

save me my dear

oh how I wish you were here

stormy air and harsh whispers

so different from love and kitten whiskers

with winds that push me about

all I wish is to heard as I cry out

save me my dear

oh how I wish you were here

with hope I feel I may finally return

for it is your kindness I yearn

but with the familiar kindness she shows me

I feel I am with you now, I can see

save me my dear

I now see you are here

with me you are, despite the distance

her heart like yours, with familiar resistance

I hope she will help, she has done so much

I have found you in her, and with some luck

I am saved my dear

I now see you are here

He whispered, letting his feelings flow as he sang, he looked at the bird in the ceiling and let his words, he imagined the bird changing into Lucille and smiling at him, he smiled as he began to feel sleepy. He closed his eyes and let his mind swirl as images of beauty flowed through him.

* * *

Cara came back with a washbasin and a clean bucket of water. She put the basin in front of her bed and poured in its contents into the basin. She took off her gloves and rolled up her sleeves before she plopped in a sheet and began to scrub it, grumbling as she worked. After a moment she glanced at Francoeur and noticed how at ease he seemed. For a second the stopped, looking at how peaceful he looked, earning a small smile from herself.

She blinked and shook her head, snapping herself out of it and taking a cupful of water and splashing it at him.

He quickly sat up, blinking in shock as he looked about, clearly startled before looking at her on confusion.

She motioned to the basin before motioning for him to approach.

"Come on, I wont do all the work.", she grumbled, tossing the other sheet at him.

He caught it, looking at her curiously before looking at the basin and dropping the sheet in. He looked at her and made a puzzled look before twittering his confusion.

She took her sheet and began to rub it onto the wash board before stopping and motioning for him to copy.

He looked at the sheet and began to copy her actions before stopping to look at her for reassurance.

She nodded and continued to clean her sheet, scrubbing it in quick bumpy motions.

He chirped and continued, copying her and scrubbed his part, letting all four of his arms push the sheet up and down the washboard. After a little while he felt his fingers become sore, then his wrists, after she pulled her sheet out he copied and pulled out the clean sheet. She lay it on a chair before taking his, her hands red and raw from scrubbing as she placed it on a small table to let it dry. She rolled down her sleeves and slipped her gloves back on, hiding the red of her palms.

He chirped, and looked at the newly clean sheets before looking at her and smiling.

She sighed and made a small smile to him, unable to resist before picking up her satchel and heading towards the door. When she had her hand on the door she turned back to him and smiled.

"I will be back shortly...no trouble, okay?", she asked, looking at him with a serious look.

He chirped, confused.

She sighed and estimated how long she was to be gone.

"I...will be gone for...a few hours...maybe 3...do you understand? Hours?", she asked.

He chirped and smiled at her, nodding in mild understanding.

She smiled and nodded before exiting.

"I will be back.", she said, smiling and closing the door before heading to the streets.

He chirped and smiled before sitting on the bed and rubbing his legs. They did not feel so sore now and he smiled at that, he knew he could jump soon again. He sighed and lay down as he waited for Cara to return, a small smile formed on his lips as a jolly tune played on a record player in another room and he dozed off, his heart moving to the beat.


	6. News

Francoeur purred, he smiled at Lucille as they sang on stage, dancing to their music as they sang in sync. He let the melodies flow as his friends clapped in the crowd, everybody cheered him on. He danced and sang as Raoul whistled, mainly to Lucille, and the engaged couple, Maud and Emile, clapped as they watched them. Francoeur and Lucille bowed as their song ended and Lucille left the stage, leaving Francoeur to do a solo.

He purred as he began to play his guitar, the music flowed as his fingers danced across the chords, every note seemed to entrance his audience as his lyrics approached. He opened his mouth to speak when the entire room dimmed, the audience's smiling faces turned to fear as they looked upon the stage, Maud and Emile looked surprised along with Raoul and Lucille.

He looked about in confusion until he looked at his hands and was startled. He realized his entire suit was gone, revealing his flea self and he looked at the audience in fright. People cried out and began to run as they began to panic. He chirped in surprise and tried to seek out his friends but they were nowhere to be seen.

Fearfully he dropped his guitar and took a step backwards, ready to run to the nearest exit, but he bumped into something and spun around. He looked at what he ran into a realized it was a giant foot, as he looked up he realized it belonged to the enormous figure of Police Chief Maynott, who sneered down at him.

"What a disgusting creature.", he said before raising his foot to step on Francoeur.

Francoeur trilled in fear as he dived out of the way and he jumped, attempting to leap away only to fall when his legs did not jump high enough. Quickly he scrambled out of the way as another foot was stomped in his direction, again he tried to jump but his legs did not work and he only fell again. Fearfully he looked up, realizing he was helpless as Maynott's foot fell upon him.

He yelped and covered his head as he tried to protect himself. The crushing blow did not come but he felt something poking a his side, scared Maynott was readying to kick him he attempted to roll to the side. As he rolled he rolled off the edge and for a split second he felt he was falling, only to wake as he hit the ground and rolled across it. Blinking in dizziness he looked about as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He blinked only to feel a powerful force hit him straight in the chin.

Francouer yelped and tried to move away but the force followed him and he covered his head the force rained blows on his back. He heard a cry and the force raining on his back suddenly stopped as he heard more shouting. Fearfully he looked to see two figures, one was smaller and was closer to him, another was large and held what looked like a broom of some sort. Blinking he remembered the smaller figure, it was Cara, she was holding her arms up as she shielded Francoeur from the other figure, a dirty looking man who had dark dirty teeth. He was crying something to Cara who was trying to calm him down.

"Have ya gone wet?! Its that thing that's on the lam!", he cried pointing an accusing finger at Francoeur.

"Pipe down, Mitch! I know that, I'm no dumb dora!", she cried, trying to pull the broom from him.

"He's a real ducky, and he's no monster.", she growled, finally pulling it from his grasp.

Mitch scowled at her then at Francoeur.

"Says you, I ain't no fool! Besides, do you know how much dough we could get for letting the bulls pinch him?", he said, pointing at Francoeur again.

She glared at him as she stood straight and looked him square in the eye.

"Your being a real piker, Mitch, hes just a lost soul who needed a helping hand,", quickly she held up a hand as he tried to speak, "plus the bug has a little secret, he can write!"

Mitch blinked and scowled before huffing.

"What kinda sap do you take me for? Do you think I'll believe that hogwash?", he spat.

She glared at him.

"I'm not letting you get him pinched just because you want a few clams.", she snapped, holding the broom defensively as she moved closer to Francoeur.

Mitch glared at her.

"I'd rather let it be pinched than make a caper.", he growled before looking at her for a moment then sighed.

"But your a genuine bearcat and I've known you long enough to see your being an on the level live-wire, so I'm gonna give you a chance.", he said before moving to sit on the sheet covered chair.

"Spill the beans.", he said, waiting for her to talk, "But I warn you, I don't take any wooden nickels."

She nodded and continued to hold the broom protectively as she spoke.

"I found him while looking for scraps to trade and, I admit, he scared the pahookas out of me.", she said, pausing to let him take it in.

he chuckled and shifted the cigarette in his mouth.

"You slay me, now keep goin'.", he chuckled.

She nodded and continued.

"That's when he began to write, I could tell he wrote his name, though for the love of me I could not pronounce it. So I called him Frank and brought him back, I could tell he needed help and he was actually nice, though a big pain in my rear.", she said, glancing at Francoeur, who looked at her curiously then at Mitch.

Mitch scowled before looking at Francoeur and sitting straight, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he milled over her story.

"That's not a fine tuned story but I guess I've got no choice but to accept it.", he sighed, rubbing his chin.

Cara nodded, but still held the broom in a protective stance.

"So can I trust you to keep this secret?" she asked, her tone guarded.

Mitch looked at her closely for a moment before grinning and pulling the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Sure, even if I did tell nobody's gonna believe an old coot like me." he chuckled.

She smiled before holding the broom to the side and letting it lean against the wall.

"Now...why were you in my room anyways?" she asked, frowning.

Mitch put the cigarette back in his mouth before shifting it to the other side.

"I heard something in your room, and I wondered if somebody was trying to filch your stuff so I came in an I see this guy rolling about on the bed an I poke him, cuz he didn't belong. Next thing I know he falls off the bed and I get a good REALLY good look at him." he said, looking at Francoeur.

"The second I realized i-HE was not human I blew a horn and tried to get i-HIM out of your room." He said.

Cara shook her head before smiling.

"I'm just glad he was not hurt." She said.

Mitch grunted then frowned looking at Fancoeur then Cara and frowned, plucking the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Say, how long have you had him?" he asked, confused.

"About 2 days now," Cara said "why?"

He frowned and sat back, rubbing his stubbly chin again.

"How do you feed him?" he asked.

Cara stared at him for a moment before sighing, finally registering what he was trying to say.

"We went to the butchers, I bought a pail for him an…" she shuddered a bit, wrinkling her nose.

"I get it." He said, wincing, understanding the statement before looking at Francoeur.

"He uh..he didn't try to hurt ya did he?" he asked.

Cara shook her ehad quickly.

"Nope, hes a real ducky, it was just weird seeing him gulp down the crimson like it was giggle water." She said, wincing.

Mitch blinked and shook his head, rubbing his cheeks with his hand to conceal his snort of laughter.

She glared at him before rolling her eyes and smiling.

"So…you're cool with him, right?" she asked.

He looked at her and smirked, shifting the cigarette again.

"Ab-so-lute-ly." He said, grinning, showing his browned and chipped teeth.

Francoeur looked at Cara worriedly, not understanding a word of the conversation before tugging her sleeve and making a twittering sound of fear.

Cara looked at him curiously and watched as he pointed at Mitch then hid behind her more, despite his size. She blinked before smiling and patting his shoulder assuredly.

"It's alright, he's a mighty nice guy, you can trust him." She said, chuckling.

Francoeur looked at her worriedly before looking back at Mitch.

Mitch grinned at him and tipped his cap towards him.

"How ya doin?" he asked, chuckling.

Francoeur blinked and looked at Cara again and she only smiled and motioned towards Mitch. Francoeur bit his lip before chirping and nodding his head toward Mitch, wringing his hands nervously.

Mitch chuckled and smiled before standing, popping his back as he stretched it and smirked at Cara.

"It's time for me to go to work; you better take care of him, not like you won't." He said, chuckling before coughing and leaving the room as he hacked.

Once he was gone Cara looked at Francoeur and smiled.

"That went well."

He looked at her quizzically before she sighed.

"Right…no uhh speaker anglais." She said.

He blinked at her.

She blinked and shook her head, waving a hand at his face.

"Never mind."

* * *

Cara managed to find a man who spoke English and French and took a few quick lessons from him to better understand Frank. Mitch helped a lot when he could, he split the job of buying Francoeur's meals with Cara and they took turns watching over him. They also kept their eyes open whenever they looked for news on the newspaper stands for information on the professor and excited Francoeur when they showed him a picture talking about his trial.

"This is a friend? Uhh a 'mon ami'?" Cara asked, frowning as she strained to understand him.

Francoeur barely understood but only nodded his head and pointed at the picture of the Professor and Charles excitedly before chirping and twittering, forcing Cara to calm him. She looked at the paper and began to read, she looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke.

"It looks like some of the professors friends are starting to fight for him, sending letters and telegrams to get him out of the jail. Oh and looks like somebody DOES know of your secret, there's this one gal named Lucille who is looking for you."

The moment he heard the word Lucille he began to twitter and chirp repeatedly, his eyes grew wide in excitement and he trembled like and excited puppy.

"Calm down, you need to stop being so loud, we don't want anybody finding you." She growled, tossing her blanket over his head.

Francoeur squeaked and tossed around in the blanket, trying to break free. She rolled her eyes and pulled it off, standing beside him as he looked at her sheepishly as she cocked an eyebrow.

"…I admit, your funny, but could you PLEASE calm down?" she frowned.

He blinked and made a low chirp and nodded his head, understanding her on a minor scale.

She sighed and put the blanket on him then lay down next to him, pulling the blanket over her and him before snuggling into a ball.

"Goodnight Frank." She sighed, closing her eyes.

He chirped then snuggled up to her, surprising her and she lay there stiffly as he pressed against her. She felt her cheeks redden but she only sighed and continued to fall into sleep before finally drifting off.

* * *

In the morning she yawned and rubbed her eyes before she realized there was something out of the ordinary. She looked around but saw only her normal small crowded room and frowned before she began to sit up. As she sat up she stiffened as she realized what had been odd, she looked at her waist and realized Francoeur had snuggled so close to her he had wrapped his arms around her waist. Her cheeks burned and she picked up her pillow and slapped him roughly with it, startling him awake, making him pull her closer and she yelped as he pulled her closer before pushing the pillow out of his face.

He blinked tiredly before yawning and looking around then looked down at her and chirped happily.

She growled and struggled in his grip, easily slipping out of his grasp and scooting further from him, her cheeks inflamed.

"Really? Do I NEED to tell you again?" she growled, raising a hand and pointing at it.

Francoeur quickly scooted to the wall and chirped in fear, his eyes widening.

She rolled her eyes and put her hand down and hugged herself, watching him and making sure he was looking.

"No." she said.

She pulled her arms apart and made a no motion by waving her arms horizontally to her waist then pulling them back into a hugging position and repeating the motion several times.

"Understand? No." she said.

He blinked at her and nodded.

She nodded.

"Good, now I will be back, STAY." She said, motioning for him to stay as she moved towards the door.

"Stay." She said, closing the door and sighing as she leaned against it.

"Now who rolled you out of the wrong side of the bed?" Mitch snorted, coming up the stairs.

She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Nobody, I just woke up…in a rather awkward position." She said, her cheeks heating up.

Mitch chuckled.

"Oh you mean the cuddle? I saw that, was the most adorable thing I ever saw." He chuckled.

Instantly her cheeks burned brighter as her eyes widened.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe." He chuckled.

He pointed over his shoulder down the stairs.

"Breakers is up for grabs, I was just about to wake ya, so hurry or the potaters are gonna be gone." He said, starting down the stairs.

Cara headed down the stairs before entering the kitchen; it was full of workmen and women, all bustling for a grab at the goods on the table. Quickly Cara grabbed a fried potato and began to stuff it in her mouth and walk out before anybody could protest.

Once she had her potato she hurried back to the room and helped Frank get dressed in the sheets again.

"Alright 'mom' it's time to get your medicine." She sighed, putting the potato on the table and began to wrap him up in the sheets.

Frank chirped and purred joyfully at the familiar sentence.

She chuckled as he tried to help and helped him wrap up the 'skirts' and then have the shawl and scarf cover his head and face. Once she was done she stepped back and looked him over before she nodded in satisfaction.

"Looks good to me, well lets go, shall we?" she said, smiling.

He chirped and smiled at her excitedly.

She held out a hand to help him stand but was surprised when he stood on his own, she had noticed he was getting better at picking himself up but he was doing it rather rapidly. She smiled and held his arm before leading him towards the door.

"Let's go." She smiled.


End file.
